Emotion Regulation Difficulties in Youth: ADHD Irritability vs. DMDD vs. Bipolar Disorder

Register at https://www.additudemag.com/webinar/dmdd-bipolar-adhd-irritability-youth-mood-disorders/ for this free expert webinar on emotion regulation difficulties and mood disorders in youth with ADHD on Wednesday, December 14, at 1 pm ET. Sign up and you will receive the free webinar replay link as well!

Irritability, moodiness, temper tantrums, or other mood states commonly occur alongside ADHD in youth, but sometimes emotion regulation difficulties (ERD) indicate something more. Caregivers observing frequent mood issues may worry that their child has a mood-related pediatric psychiatric disorder, like DMDD or bipolar disorder, in addition to ADHD. And in fact, youth with ADHD are at elevated risk, compared to unaffected youth, for developing a mood disorder at some point in their lives.

That said, irritability is a non-specific emotional state that can be observed in healthy youth and those who have ADHD or other behavioral challenges, in addition to youth with diagnosed mood disorders. Understanding the significance of irritability in a child with ADHD, consequently, can be quite challenging, even for seasoned clinicians. So it is no surprise that many parents of youth with ADHD and ERD, feel anxious and uncertain about their child’s diagnoses.

About the Presenter: William French, MD, DFAACAP, is a board-certified child and adolescent psychiatrist in the Pediatric Clinic at Harborview, Seattle Children’s Hospital, and Odessa Brown Children’s Clinic in the Division of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine. He also is an associate professor at the University of Washington.